UK drivers warned as motorists clocked at up to 167mph

An investigation by the RAC has revealed that 32,548 motorists were recorded driving at 30mph or more on roads with a 20mph limit last year, including cases of extreme speeding.

One driver was clocked at 89mph on a 20mph stretch of the B5129 in Deeside, North Wales.

Another was caught travelling at 114mph on a 30mph road near a primary school in Aylestone, Leicestershire.

A man was sentenced last week after being caught driving at 167mph while being pursued by police on the A55 near Bangor, North Wales, on February 23.

Rod Dennis, RAC senior policy officer, said: “Our analysis shows some of the frankly chilling speeds some people are prepared to drive at – and these are just the cases the police are aware of.

“The fact that some were recorded in residential areas, even near schools, in daytime hours when others might well have been using the roads underlines just how dangerous this kind of behaviour is.

“Such roads will almost certainly be well-used by pedestrians and cyclists, so it doesn’t bear thinking about what travelling at such high speeds could have led to.”

Figures from Freedom of Information requests submitted to police forces across the UK revealed even higher speeds elsewhere.

The fastest recorded last year was 161mph, on the A5 in Bayston Hill, Shropshire, and the M6 southbound between Stoke and Stafford.

Across all 33 police forces that responded, 271,341 motorists were found driving at 40mph or more on roads limited to 30mph.

These findings come as 20mph speed limits become more common in built-up areas across the UK.

Wales has already adopted a 20mph default in built-up areas, and the Scottish Government has pledged to roll out the same policy where appropriate.

In England, 62 of 153 local authorities have introduced similar schemes.

London has also backed the move, with more than half of the capital’s roads now set at 20mph, as part of a key policy from Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.

However, the limits have drawn criticism.

TomTom, a location technology company, has blamed the lower limits for making London the “slowest capital city to drive in” globally.

Despite the debates, the safety rationale remains clear.

Department for Transport (DfT) figures show that speed was a factor in 58 per cent of fatal crashes in Britain in 2024.

The Government’s road safety strategy, published in January, aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the roads by 65 per cent by 2035 and includes new guidance for councils on setting speed limits.

Mr Dennis said while casualty reduction targets are welcome, more needs to be done to address repeat speeding offences.

He called for new powers to allow courts to require offenders to use intelligent speed assistance technology, which physically prevents vehicles from exceeding speed limits.

A DfT spokesperson said: “There’s no excuse for those who choose to speed and put lives at risk.”

The representative confirmed there are currently no plans to mandate such technology, but said the Government’s strategy does call for all new cars to be fitted with warning systems to alert drivers when they exceed the speed limit.